ROME, 8 April 2020:
Italian health authorities yesterday recorded the lowest daily increase in coronavirus cases since 13 March, bringing the total since the outbreak began to 135,596 – although officials warned the population against letting its guard down.
“It confirms a decrease in the trend of new infections,” Italy’s Civil Protection agency head Angelo Borrelli said in a daily press conference.
The data shows a continuation in the light downturn in the spread of the virus since it was first detected in the country in late February.
Currently, there are around 94,067 active cases in the country, “only” 880 more than detected yesterday – the lowest daily increase since March 10, Borelli said.
Of those, 28,718 are in hospital and 3,792 in ICU but the majority – some 61,557 – are isolating at home.
Authorities said 604 people had died overnight, bringing the fatality toll in the country to 17,127. Italy is the deadliest Covid-19 hotspot in the world.
On a positive note, a total of 24,392 people have recovered from the disease, some 1,555 in the last 24 hours.
The number of people in the ICU also fell over the last day. Italy’s hospitals were overwhelmed with patients and bordered on collapse.
“Finally, it seems we are starting to see a slowdown in new cases. After a phase of plateau, the curve is beginning to go down,” Gianni Rezza, from the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) said. “The situation is starting to get better.”
He warned of the necessity to uphold the lockdown in the country. The Italian government has closed down the country until at least April 13. Rezza said the virus would remain in the population, although pose less of a threat.
However, Domenico Arcuri, a special commissioner appointed to direct the response to the crisis, warned it was not the time to relax.
“No algorithm or curve can cancel out the number of human lives lost. We know that the number of men and women who will die will go up in the coming days.”
Arcuri spoke at a time when Italy would normally be gearing up for the Easter holidays and called on the population to stick to the restrictions in place in the lockdown. “We shouldn’t commit any errors in the coming days. They will be fundamental. We all have to keep our eyes open.”
The government, meanwhile, approved a new decree that would protect business from up to 90% of bank losses – a move that should inject €200 billion into the economy.
Roberto Gualtieri, the finance minister, described it as an “unprecedented move.” It comes part of an economic package that includes €750 euros worth of credit lines designed to thwart an economic crisis.
– EFE